WOW! https://www.ebth.com/items/6140526-...30-by-anacs-1783-mexican-8-reales-silver-coin Should I get it? Thanks,
No. 8 reales are pretty available. If you're looking for one of these types, look for a problem free example. "Shipwreck" is code for "corroded". Shipwreck coins are ugly, corroded, and damaged. I know some people go crazy for them, but I don't get it. Sure, put it in a museum or something, but it has no place in my collection. If you like it, buy it (if the price is right). But I wouldn't.
I get the shipwreck attraction. I would like to own a coin from a famous shipwreck someday. The history behind the coin is what would attract me to it rather than the physical appearance of the coin. Knowing that I held a coin that was aboard a ship that was sunk during a hurricane or some other storm and then rested on the sea bed for nearly 200 years before being brought back up from it's watery grave has a bit of an appeal to me. If that coin could only tell a tale.
With shipwreck coins it's not the condition of the coin but the history behind the ship which it went down with because you gotta remember they made loads of coins from Mexico and Columbia and sent to back to Spain and other Colonies. There is always those special rare reales (for instance 8 reales with Louis l of Spain on the front) but this is not one of them. This shipwreck is historic though, the ship was to send money to Spanish colony of Louisiana because it's economy was failing from counterfeiting of coins and the shortage of hard currency devalued cash in circulation plus they needed to pay officials. The ship sank 50 miles off the coast of new Orleans and its cargo of 400,000 reales sank, because of this shipwreck Spain rethought did they really need Louisiana, They ended up giving it back to France and then France ended up selling it to the U.S. Because of this shipwreck and it's failed mission, the size of the U.S doubled. The ship itself has not been salvaged yet and the only coins that have been brought up are ones that they brought up with a fishing net when they found the wreck.
Wow!! Thanks for the awesome history behind this coin that the OP brought up. This is the reason I like shipwreck coins.
That doesn't strike me as a bad price for an 8R piece from El Cazador, IF you got the decent example shown. 1783 is the most common date but I like the one in the listing and it's nice how the old-style ANACS holder lists the shipwreck pedigree with date and location, unlike most TPG labels. As @BlackBeard_Thatch helpfully noted, this particular shipwreck was pivotal to the history of Louisiana and how it fell out of the Spanish grsasp and eventually became part of the United States. It is well worth reading about. The accidental rediscovery of the wreck is fascinating, too. There are a LOT of El Cazador pieces on the market, though, and quality varies widely. Many are heavily corroded. If you buy from the OP link, just make sure you're getting the exact coin in the picture and that they're not using a stock photo.
While this is reasonable advice from a mainstream numismatic perspective (sea salvage = corrosion, corrosion = bad news), it does not take into account the cachet that particular "shipwreck" or "relic" pieces with known provenance (like this) can have. Shipwreck coins are in a different niche of their own, and within that niche, the rules like "corrosion is bad" are relaxed somewhat. Obviously one wants to pick a coin with the most eye appeal possible, but shipwreck artifact collectors understand that there will be some corrosion except on some gold items. The coin pictured in the OP link is actually well above average for an El Cazador specimen. Browse them on eBay and you'll see.
Yeah, I understand why people like the shipwreck stuff. It just doesn't do anything for me. I do like the history related in the above post... but not enough to want a coin from this wreck.
True. To each his own. Me, I like the shipwreck pedigrees if 1) the coins aren't horribly marked up in price above what an undamaged one would be and 2) aren't too ugly/corroded/encrusted, etc. I don't own any at present. I did once have had a 1783 El Cazador 8R in an old small ANACS holder like the one discussed here, but it wasn't as well preserved. I forget what I bought and sold it for, as that was over 10 years ago.
